By Derek DeBurger

Louisville downed a worn out Wright State Raiders team to win the Nashville Regional.

With the win, the Cards advance to the Super Regionals.

Return of the Mac

Playing as the away team, Louisville started the top of the first on offense and the offense made its presence known.

A single, a ground rule double and a walk loaded up the bases, then Eddie King Jr. brought two runs home with a double all before any outs were recorded.

Garret Pike took a pitch to the back and loaded the bases right back up, but from there the Cards left all three runners on an island and ended the first up 2-0.

Ethan Eberle got the start and continued the run of dominance by Louisville’s bullpen. It took until the third inning for the Raiders to get a hit, but even then there was no glimmer of hope for their bats.

To make matters worse for Cinderella, the Cards added a run in the fifth off the bat of Matt Klein to bring to score to 3-0.

Jake Munroe opened up the sixth with a triple, and Kamau Neighbors took him home with an extra base hit.

Wright State gave a slight scare in the seventh after the Cards walked sure-fire big leaguer Boston Smith, but gave up another walk the very next batter. Eberle ended his day after 6.1 innings and an astonishing 11 strikeouts, but Wyatt Danilowicz didn’t sneeze at the opportunity to bail him out of the inning.

Louisville continued to pile on after Munroe and Tague Davis reached base, and Alex Alicea brought them home with an easy double in the eighth.

That was all for the insurance runs, but it didn’t matter as the Cards won 6-0.

Music to the ears

Louisville should try to play in Nashville more often.

The Cards advance to the Super Regionals after winning the Nashville Regional. The last time the Cards played a postseason series in Nashville they upset the Commodores in the Super Regionals to make the 2013 College World Series.

This is the 10th time in program history Louisville has advanced to the Super Regionals.

What was the weak link the entire season, pitching, was the backbone of Louisville’s Regional run.

Louisville gave up a combined five runs through all three games, complimented by a total of 43 strikeouts.

The Cards also completely flipped the script on their road woes, winning three away from home after going 6-12 in true road games in the regular season.

On offense, a good day is actually a little disappointing when you look at the details. Louisville scored six runs but left 10 runners on base.

Alicea had an amazing day batting, going 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBI.

Klein went 2-for-4, and had a solid day fielding. With each game he shakes off more and more of the rust.

Louisville will face the winner of the Southern Miss-Miami game in the Supers, their first since 2022. If Miami pulls off the upset, the Cards will host the Supers for the first time since 2019.

Photo Courtesy // Taris Smith, Louisville Athletics